The Shift
by hopelessly21
Summary: When Bella turns 16, she feels an odd pull to move to Forks. She moves in  with the Blacks and soon finds out what she is and why she's here. But how will a certain bronze-haired boy take it when he discovers her secret and who she lives with...?
1. Chapter One

**Okay, here it is! I don't want to give away too much back story because it'll be much more fun for you to discover along the way, but I will tell you that although this story is not AH, Edward, Alice, Rosalie, Jasper, and Emmett are not vampires. Oh, and they aren't related. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Read on!**

Introduction:

_I could feel it. The tugging in my belly pulling me towards a dart on the map. Forks. It started on my birthday, the feeling. And it hadn't gone away since. I couldn't fathom why I would feel the urge to go there, of all places. It's not like going to my parent's hometown would bring them back to life. Would it? No. Of course not. But still, the feeling was there, increasing in urgency by the moment. And the longer it stayed there, the more I knew I wouldn't be able to resist. I laid down on my bed and, reaching under, dug out the old scrapbook that held all I had left of my family-my _real_ family. And just as I remembered, on page three was a photo of my father Charlie and his friend, Billy Black, a middle-aged Quileute living on the La Push Reservation, right on the edge of Forks. Down beneath in the caption box, I saw his address and phone number "just in case" I ever needed it. It was things like this that made me wonder if my parents knew they were going to die…but I couldn't think about that now. I had a job to do. Pulling out my cell phone, I dialed and waited impatiently for him to answer. Finally, on the fifth ring, a gruff but kind voice picked up._

_ "Billy?"_

Chapter One:

"Phil!" I called down the stairs. I was putting the finishing touches on my outfit for the day-shorts, a fitted tee-shirt and a cardigan. Yanking a brush through my hair, I left my room and peered over the balcony into the living room. "Hey, Uncle Phil!" I said, louder this time. No wonder he hadn't heard me the first time; a game was on. He looked up at the sound of my voice and smiled over his shoulder at me.

"Hey there. What's up?" Now that I had his attention, I didn't know where to start and I bit my lip uncertainly. Sensing my apprehension, Phil muted the television and patted the seat next to him. "Wanna talk about something, kiddo?" I nodded and made my way slowly down to where Phil was seated. He had taken me in eleven years ago when my parents died…how was I supposed to tell him that I wanted…_needed_ to leave him now?

"I'm not sure where to start." I admitted as I took a seat next to him. He patted my hand gently with a soft smile.

"Bella, what have I always told you, ever since you moved in with me?" I took a deep breath.

"'Be open, be honest, and I won't get mad'," I quoted with a grin. Phil had started me with that policy early in life so that I knew that no matter what I did, felt, or thought Phil wouldn't punish me for it. He didn't believe in spankings or groundings or things like that. According to Phil, that taught children nothing except that one action on their part caused a certain reaction on the parent's part. It didn't teach them how to think or reason between right and wrong. It didn't help them make smart decisions in the long run. So if I ever (by some miracle) did something Phil didn't approve of, he would sit me down and we would talk about why it wasn't okay and what a better action would be instead. Hey, it worked for us.

"That's right. Now tell me what's bothering you." Phil prompted. With a sigh, I ran my hand through my hair. I couldn't put it off any longer; I had to tell him.

"Ever since I turned sixteen last week…," I paused, gathering strength. "I've felt this strange…_pull_ to go home." I froze, waiting for Phil's response. Would he laugh it off? Tell me there was no way in hell I would be allowed to go?

"But you _are_ home," he insisted in a puzzled voice. He didn't get it.

"No, I don't mean like this house…. Phil, these years I've lived with you have been absolutely amazing. I've learned so much about myself and the outside world, and you're a great parent, it's just…I feel this pull to go _home. _Back to Forks."

I could see my words simmering in his head as he slowly comprehended what I was telling him. "But, Sweetie, you lived in Forks for less than a year when you were born. Your home is here, in Phoenix."

"I can't explain it, Phil. I just…I feel this _need_ to be there. And I've been trying to resist it, honestly, but I can't help it. It's making me restless. It's driving me crazy," I held his hand tightly in my own. He _had_ to believe me. "Please let me go." I whispered. His exhale was audible and he sat back, looking deep in thought for a few moments.

"If this is what you feel like you need to do, Bella, you know I'll support you. But you're sixteen, which means I can't _legally _send you up there to live by yourself…," He trailed off, obviously trying to come up with a solution. Luckily, however, I had it covered and my face lit up to prove it.

"Actually, you don't have to worry about that. I called my dad's old best friend Billy to ask around about ideas on where I could stay and out of nowhere he offered to take me in!" I exclaimed. I still couldn't believe how well that had worked out in my favor.

"Ahh, yes, I know Billy. He's a good man. Of course he'd ask you to stay with him, of course." He was speaking more to himself than to me, so I kept my mouth shut. "I…I guess if you have it all worked out…then there's no stopping you." He gave me a huge grin and pulled me in for a hug. "When are you planning on leaving?"

"This weekend, hopefully. I mean, I exempted all my finals, so I'm already done with my sophomore year. I guess the sooner I get there, the better."

_*()_*()

I found myself, with two suitcases in hand (all of my other things had already been shipped) at the airport that Saturday. Phil and I shared our tearful (on my part) goodbyes and promises to keep in close contact with one another. I had no idea what I was getting myself into, all I knew was that the pull in the pit of my stomach was getting more insistent by the second and I simply _had_ to be in Forks. Immediately.

Security and check in went smoothly, and before I knew it, I was on a flight out of sunny Phoenix and into rainy Forks. As the flight landed in Seattle, I could already see heavy rain droplets pouring from the clouds.

"God," I muttered to myself. "What was I thinking?"

_*()_*()

I stood outside, trying to stay as _not_ wet as possible as I waited for Billy Black. I tried not to get too caught up in worries about what my new life would be like. I could worry about that _after_ I made it to Forks. After a short wait, a beat up red pick-up truck pulled up by the curb next to me and the passenger side window rolled down.

"Are you Isabella Swan?" I leaned in to get a view of the face behind the deep, rough voice. A young man-maybe 20?-sat at the wheel. He appeared to be tall, with deeply tanned skin and shortly cropped hair-obviously a Quileute. He was shirtless and I spent a few minutes heavily entranced by his firm biceps, and muscular chest. My gaze traveled downwards, towards his yummy abs and- "Umm…Miss?" It took me a second to snap out of it and realize he had spoken.

"Right, oh, I'm sorry. I'm Isabella. Well, Bella. I mean, yes my real name is Isabella, but I really prefer just Bella. Unless of course you prefer Isabella, because you can call me whatever you want…," I trailed off, getting lost in a fantasy that was probably _way_ inappropriate for me to be thinking about this much older man. He chuckled at my ramblings before leaning over and opening my door for me.

"Get in, Bella," he grinned, so I just nodded and hopped in next to him. We were both silent as he peeled out of the parking lot.

"So, um," I began after a while. "Why are you shirtless?" It probably made me sound like an idiot, but the question had been plaguing me since I first saw him. And besides, it's not like we had anything else to talk about. That reminded me… "And I was kind of expecting you to be…older." The driver busted out in complete side-spitting laughter.

"I'm Jacob, Billy's son." He explained when he finally calmed down. It didn't go unnoticed by me that he ignored my first question.

"Oh. When Billy told me he had a son, I was expecting him to be like…twelve." This earned me another chuckle-a sound I was starting to really enjoy.

"I'm eighteen, Bella. And you are…?"

"Sixteen." I told him, in shock that he was only a couple years older than me. I guess that made it okay for me to ogle him then…

The rest of the drive passed between easy chatter and us alternatingly scoping each other out. I was sure he was just trying to take in my appearance; there was no way this total _god_ could be checking _me _out. I knew I wasn't ugly and I had had my fair share of offers while in Phoenix, but none had really interested me and I was certainly no blonde haired, blue eyed Beauty Queen. I was average height, about 5'3" with wavy dark hair that fell halfway down my back. My eyes were the same color-boring brown. Despite living in Phoenix for fifteen years, my skin was very pale white and I had a few golden freckles ghosting over my cheeks.

Nothing special.

_*()_*()

"Bella?" I was broken out of my reverie by Jacob Black. I looked up and realized that we were stopped outside a small cottage-looking house of yellow painted wood. It wasn't anything grand, but it looked cozy and welcoming. "We're home."

"Home." I muttered softly. I liked the sound of that. Jake helped me take my luggage inside and down the hallway to the second door on the right.

"The one on the left is dad's, this first room is mine, and the door at the very end of the hall is the bathroom you and I will share." He explained as he set down my things. The rest of my boxes were there already, just waiting for me to unpack them.

"I feel like I'm invading your space." I said unhappily, taking a seat on the unmade bed. I didn't stop to think about how Billy's son would feel about me, a total stranger, moving into his house.

"Don't say that." Jake replied softly, taking a seat next to me. "Both of my sisters moved out a while ago. It'll be great having another person here to spend time with besides Dad. You'll be like…another sister…?" He let the end of his sentence hang there, and he gazed into my eyes as if asking my permission to call me _sister._ Personally, I really had no desire to be Jacob's sibling, but if that's what he was offering…

"Yeah. Sure." I gave him my best winning smile and he left then to scrounge us up some dinner. I lay back on my bed, feeling a whirlwind of emotions crashing down on me. I had gotten what I wanted; I was back in Forks (La Push was close enough). The feeling in the pit of my stomach had finally gone away. But I knew absolutely no one here, aside from Jacob, and I was never the best at making friends. And what was I supposed to do, now that I was here? I hadn't come here for no reason…I had a purpose and I knew that. Now all I had to do was figure out what exactly that purpose was.

**A/N: So this was probably pretty boring seeing as it was mostly travel scenes, but next chapter Bella meets-who else?-Edward! Let me know what you think in a review and maybe we'll meet him tomorrow…?**


	2. Chapter Two

**A/N: Yay, I'm back! Okay, so if you already read the first chapter GO READ IT AGAIN. I edited a lot of things and I added an introduction so make sure you check that out. Also, you'll probably notice some OOC-ness this chapter. That's okay. Embrace it. You will recognize some of their classic character traits soon enough. And also, this starts some of the 'T' rated language, so young readers beware! Jake is gonna start using some foul language when he gets upset. Read on…**

Chapter Two:

I felt the weight shift of my bed and I carefully opened one eye, then the other. I stifled a scream when I saw a pair of eyes less than four inches from me.

"Rise and shine, gorgeous!" His deep voice said cheerfully. Groaning, I peered at the clock behind his head. 6:50 AM. What. The. Hell.

"Jacob? What are you doing in my bed? And why are you waking me up so damn early?" I mumbled, rolling over and shoving my face into the cool pillow. I heard his light chuckle, and the mattress shifted again as he moved closer, thrusting his arm out to shove me unceremoniously onto the floor. "Hey!" I squeaked.

"School starts in forty minutes. You've gotta get ready. Your _first _day of school!" His chipper tone this early was really starting to grate on my nerves.

"I finished this year already when I was back in Phoenix," I yawned, standing and making my way to my suitcase to find something to wear. An unfortunate fact about myself-once I was awake, I was up for the day. I could have _killed _Jacob right about then.

"Yeah, Dad told me. But he also said to tell you that he was up late last night at Harry's house and won't be much company today. He wanted me to bring you along to school with me." He explained, sitting up on the bed. He was already dressed in jeans and a light gray t-shirt. Somehow, he still managed to look just as hot as when he was shirtless. Stupid hot Jacob.

"Won't I get in trouble for trespassing if I'm not a student? Besides, what am I supposed to do while you're in class all day?"

"Nah. We'll mostly just be having parties all day and the front desk lady has a thing for me." He gave me a wink and I rolled my eyes.

"Are you usually this forward with girls you've known less than a day?" I stood in front of where he sat on the bed with my hands on my hips; I had to keep myself from laughing at the fact that even seated on my short bed, he was still as tall as me. At my words however, he stood and pressed himself closer to me, peering down into my surely wide eyes. I gulped.

"Only when they're as beautiful as you." We were silent in the static of the moment until with a light laugh, he moved out into the hall. "You have exactly five minutes to get your ass out into my truck. You aren't making me late on my last day of school, missy." With a light sigh, I shut the door and dug through my clothes trying to find something acceptable to wear. I debated about ten seconds before tugging on a pair of light wash shorts and a purple tunic top. I quickly brushed my hair on my way to the bathroom to give my teeth a speedy scrub and then I was grabbing my gold sandals and racing outside to the truck. I didn't know what would happen if I missed the five minute mark, but I didn't want to risk getting on Jacob's bad side for making him late. "Ah, four minutes forty-nine seconds. Not bad, new girl." He said as I hopped in the passenger side of the cab. "With a little luck, we'll be at school with some time to mingle before first bell."

Forks High was a small, unspectacular building resting right on the border-line between Forks and La Push. The number of high school age teenagers on La Push was a sorry few, so it made more sense to just combine into one high school. Even including them, there were maybe 200 people that went there, tops. Which meant _everyone _would recognize me as the new girl. Not that I had many other options than to go to school. I already couldn't resist Jacob's charms and it's not like I had anything else to do all day.

We parked in front of the first building on the parking lot, a small red-brick something with a worn sign out front reading **MAIN OFFICE.** Jake waltzed right in to the front desk and leaned flirtatiously on it, planting himself directly in front of the middle aged woman seated there. I watched as she fluffed her graying hair and took of her readers.

"Well, hello, Mr. Black," She giggled. _Giggled. _Oh God. He smirked at her.

"Good morning, Janice. Looking lovely as always. My friend here-Isabella Swan-is new and she's already completed her sophomore year. I was wondering if she could tag along with me for the day?"

"Of course! Anything, anything. Let me just write up a visitor's pass for her, although I'm sure none of your teachers will mind." She hurriedly filled out a slip of orange paper before ripping it off its pad and shoving it towards me.

"Thank you, Janice," Jacob whispered, leaning down and kissing her bony knuckles. I wanted to gag and I hurried out of the office before I made a fool of myself by vomiting all over everything. I felt a rush of wind behind me as Jake followed me out, looping his arm through mine, and guided me to the next building over.

"You disgust me," I told him with a grin.

"Hey, I got you in, didn't I?"

"Mhm. Do you always get what you want, Jake?" I asked, trying to sound coy and attractive. We paused under the eave outside the school, and I leaned against the wall. Jake moved closer, trapping me for the second time today.

"Yes," he breathed, before shoving off the wall and pulling me inside. Almost instantly, we were trapped in a throng of students rushing through the doors, presumably heading off to other buildings where their classes were located. Jacob grabbed my hand and tugged me along, all the way out the back door. Here was a courtyard that contained a small basketball court-slash-tennis court and what appeared to be some kind of gymnasium. On the basketball court was a group of students who were tanned and looked a lot like Jacob Black. "These are my friends, Bella." They all turned to face us. "This is Quil and Embry," he said, gesturing to the first two boys. "And then Leah and Seth."-a tall, strong-faced girl and a smaller boy who looked a lot like her (her brother?). "And finally Jared, Kim, and Paul." Jared had his arm around Kim's waist, and Paul stood, looking tough and unhappy behind the rest of the group. "Guys," Jacob turned to face them. "This is Bella."

The first boy, Quil, was also the first to speak. "Ohh, shit, Jake's got a girlfriend!" All the boys chuckled and muttered more jokes to each other. I was sure my face was a thousand shades of red. After a couple more minutes of harassment, Leah came up and put a hand on Jacob's shoulder.

"Come on, Jake, we're going to be late for first period." She said in a pouty voice. It was obvious that she liked him by the way her eyes kept flickering to me in a gaze that could only be described as pure loathing. She probably didn't like the way Jacob was still clutching my hand.

"Let's go, Bella." Ooh. She _really_ didn't like that.

I waved goodbye to Jake's other friends as the three of us made our way to the fourth building in the cluster.

"What class is this?" I asked when we stopped outside the door.

"Bio," Jake replied, holding the door open for Leah and myself. She entered first, flipping her hair and scoffing. I rolled my eyes, flipped her off, and walked in with Jacob. The classroom was pretty standard as far as high school labs went; the teacher's desk was up front and the rest of the room was lined with tall black lab tables. Behind the last desk in the back of the room, however, was something completely extraordinary. He was pale, like me, only his skin seemed far more pretty and much less sickly-looking. I worked my way upwards, taking in his toned arms, and pausing at his face. Oh, his face. High cheekbones, strong jaw, sharp nose, and…shining emerald eyes. It took all of my strength to look past them and take in his mussed, yet stylish, auburn hair. Where Jacob was hot, this boy was…beautiful. Painfully so. "Bella…? Bella! Bells!"

"Huh?" I swerved to face Jake, nearly falling over and he caught me around the waist. The close proximity to his face was intoxicating.

"Let's get you in a desk, shall we?" He smirked, then walked me up to the front to introduce me to the teacher and led me to the desk right in front of Angel Boy. Jake was right-there were no lessons today, the only rules from the Mr. Banner were "no shouting and no leaving the classroom".

"Jacob?" I asked when 'class' was well underway and the room was filled with idle chatter. He looked up and I lowered my voice to a low whisper. "Who is that boy behind us?" I gestured subtly backwards with my head, but I could still feel the boy's eyes boring into the back of my head. It made sense that he heard-no one sat at the desk with him, so he was sitting in silence. Jake chuckled at my question.

"Would you be asking about the mysterious and elusive Edward Masen, miss?" I felt myself blush again. _Edward. _The name fit him. "Don't even bother, Bells. Every girl at this school has tried to get with him, but he's yet to take any up on their offers. Don't waste your time." His tone was comforting, almost like a girlfriend would console you about a hopeless ex. I just nodded in response to Jake. I mean, I knew someone as flawless as him wouldn't go for me. I quickly changed the subject and tried to keep Jacob as occupied as possible so he would forget my stupid flub about Edward. When the bell rang forty-five minutes later, we headed out of the classroom, but waiting for Leah ended up with us following just behind Edward. I tried not to gawk as I saw him leave class and lean up against the row of lockers across the way. And then I tried not to cry as I watched a tall, blonde-haired girl in a cheerleading uniform flaunt up to him, shove her chest in his face, and kiss him full on the lips, wrapping her hands tightly into his tousled hair.

"Jake," I muttered softly, storming past the happy couple. "You didn't tell me that the reason he turned everyone down was because he has a _girlfriend._" He followed me until we made it outside and I slowed to a stop, turning to face him. He scoffed at my statement.

"Girlfriend. Ha. Barely. He's miserable with her, Bells, but he's too nice to dump her sorry ass and go for someone else. Look, why does it matter anyway? You don't even know the guy so there's no way you could be into him."

"What does it matter? I hardly know you!" I exclaimed angrily, remembering the way he had cornered me several times that day.

"Yeah, well I'm not falling in love with you, am I? Jesus, how are you so damn naïve? Get your head out of the clouds and get stupid Edward Masen out of your brain! He's not into you!" He huffed. I didn't realize it until then, but our little argument had been drawing a small crowd. Including Edward, who stared at me with wide, shocked eyes, and his snooty fake girlfriend who was giving me the stank eye. Leah stood with Jacob, glaring me up and down. I was positively horrified and humiliated. Is this how everyone would remember me here? As the girl who fell hopelessly for this Edward guy the minute she laid eyes on him?

"I…I…," I mumbled, then ran off the parking lot as I burst into tears.

**A/N: Well? We like? In my original outline, Bella met Alice this chapter, but I guess that'll happen next time. Get ready because pretty soon, some stuff starts going down. This isn't just a love story-there'll be plenty of action and bumps along the way. And by the way…who do we want Bella to end up with? Edward or Jacob? I haven't fully decided yet myself. That's all I have for ya today, but…I'm not posting another chapter until I get some reviews :l. leave me your thoughts and let me know when you want the next chapter!**


	3. Chapter Three

**Hey all! Edit from last chapter: It's Edward Cullen, not Edward Masen. Sorry about that. Also, in case you're confused, here are some ages-**

**Bella and Alice are 16**

**Jasper and Rosalie are 17 (twins)**

**Edward and Jacob are 18**

**Emmett is 20**

**We meet Alice this chapter. Soon we'll meet Carlisle and Esme and big brother Emmett. Jasper, too. I hope you guys enjoy this one! Team Edward fans, stick with me! Jacob is getting a lot of attention right now, but don't worry, Edward will get his shot soon enough! Read on.**

Chapter Three:

I couldn't see where I was going; my tears were blinding and I kept seeing Edward's shocked face behind my eyelids every time I blinked. Jacob's voice rang in my ears. _I'm not falling in love with you. He's not into you. _Ugh! I couldn't help but think the two boys were attractive. Anyone could tell that they were _gorgeous._ That was no cause for Jake to embarrass me like that, was it?

After a while, my legs gave out and I crumbled, somewhere in the middle of the forest. Forks had two things consistently- woods and rain. I curled up against a tree, letting the sobs completely overtake me.

"I'm sorry about that," someone whispered. I glanced up in shock and saw a small girl squatting in front of me. She looked about my age and had short jet black hair that stuck out in all directions. Her makeup was light and flawless, accentuating her petite, almost pixie-like features. She was impeccably dressed in simple yet obviously designer clothes and I was instantly puzzled as to why someone like _her _was talking to someone like _me. _

"I-I…what?" She smiled at my jumbled response.

"I said, I'm sorry. My brother really is a nice guy, I think Edward was just surprised." Of course, they _would_ be related.

"Oh," I muttered. "I'm not really upset about him. It makes sense that he wouldn't like me. He was probably just shocked that I would even consider trying to go after him."

"Bella," the girl scolded, crossing her arms. "Don't talk like that. You're a beautiful girl, and you deserve a great guy."

"Wow…um…thank you, I guess. I appreciate it…?" I paused, realizing she hadn't told me her name.

"Alice. Alice Cullen." She smiled, holding her hand out. I shook it.

"I'm Isabella Swan, but I go by Bella," I grinned, too. "But you already knew that." We both stood up and I brushed off the back of my shorts and my shirt before following her back to the edge of the woods. It was a good thing she had come along-I probably wouldn't have been able to find my way back by myself.

"And another thing? I think there's someone who wants to speak with you." She nodded towards the parking lot where Jacob was standing by his truck, looking mighty distressed and mighty fine. I wanted to smack my inner girl. _You're supposed to be mad at him, Bella, remember?_ I sighed and thanked Alice for coming to find me and we exchanged cell numbers so that we could get together soon. It'd be nice to have a girl friend here. Then, I meandered slowly over to where Jacob stood, looking anywhere but his eyes. I stopped a good two feet in front of him, feeling the awkwardness radiate between us.

"I am…so sorry, Bella." He said gently. I could _feel _the remorse in his voice, and I already could tell that I would never be able to stay mad at this boy for long. "I don't know what got into me. It's just…you're so damn beautiful and I hated how you were talking about Cullen and-,"

I had to laugh at his ramblings and that shut him up. "You know, Jake, it's kind of sounding like you…like me." I was trying not to get my hopes up about anything, but I was calling it as I saw it. I tried not to notice as his cheeks tinted the slightest red color.

"Just get in the car, Bella," he smiled, opening the door for me.

"What?" I asked as he got in on the driver's side and started the ignition. I stared at him quizzically as he pulled out of the parking lot. "The day isn't even half over yet." Jacob shrugged.

"I didn't really _have_ to come to school today. All of our grades are already turned in, I just thought it would be nice for you to meet some other people. But," he said, looking at me with laughter in his eyes, "I think you've had enough school for today." Now that the whole thing was past us, it _was _a little funny-though still horrendously mortifying.

Jake and I spent the rest of the day hanging out around the house. I got to formally meet Billy Black and thank him for letting me move in, and later I cooked for them and found out how long it had been since they had had a good, home cooked meal in their house.

"Alright, here's the deal." I said, turning to face them where they sat at the dining table while I finished up the dishes. "Since you're letting me stay here for free and all, I do all the cooking and grocery shopping. Sound good?"

"Sounds fabulous!" Jake mumbled around his mouthful of food. He had to be on at least his tenth helping.

"Hey, Jacob, did you tell Bella about the bonfire?" Billy asked, patting his belly.

"Bonfire?" I replied over my shoulder as I dried the rest of the plates.

"Yeah," Jake swallowed. "Every month we have a bonfire to celebrate things going on in our lives and to revisit stories of our ancestors. It's tonight, since we all finished school today. It's the first bonfire of the summer!"

"Wow, sounds like fun!" I replied. Parties were never my thing, but for some reason, a big fire at the beach with the kind-hearted Quileutes sounded like a relaxing end to a craptastic day.

"They definitely are. You'll go with me right?" Jake was suddenly on his feet, grasping my hand in his, and looking excited at the prospect. _Was he asking me to be his date to the bonfire? _I didn't want to read too much into it, so I simply said,

"Of course. I'd love to."

_*()_*()

_Shit. _Shit shitty shit shit. I had _nothing _good to wear. I wanted to look hot, but not slutty, and what's a girl even supposed to _wear _to one of these shindigs anyway?

"Bells, I'm sure you look great, come on!" Jake called through the door. _Yeah, sure._ I thought. At the moment, I was clad in only my navy blue bikini. With a sigh, I pulled on a pair of dark shorts-they also happened to be my shortest pair of shorts-and a gold senquined tank top. I finished it off with a matching gold barrette in my hair. For good measure, I smudged on a bit of black eyeliner. _There. _I smiled at myself in the mirror. That looked smoking enough, right? Right. I took a deep breath and headed outside where Jacob was waiting on the porch. He leaned against the railing, facing the bonfire we could already see lighting up the beach. I took the opportunity to drink him in. He was shirtless again, and wore nothing but navy blue swim trunks with a white stripe down each side. I took in his muscular back that flexed with every move of his arms. How could someone be so perfect? I heard a chuckle and Jake peered over his shoulder at me.

"Enjoying the view, Bells?" He smirked and I blushed for the umpteenth time since I met him. I blushed even more as I watched him check me out, starting from my legs and working his way up. He frowned when he saw my face.

"Are you wearing make up?" He asked, stepping closer to me. I nodded and shrugged.

"A little eyeliner, why?" He scoffed.

"You don't need this, Isabella," He whispered, running his thumb gently under each of my eyes, effectively removing the only make up I wore. He smiled. "Much better." He took my hand and led me off the porch towards the beach where we could hear music and laughter. The Quileutes sat in a large circle around the flames, and I recognized Jake's friends that I had met earlier on the side closest to us.

"Hey, Jake!" "Hi, Bella!" They all shouted their greetings and I looked down sheepishly.

"Hi, guys. I'm sorry about earlier." I mumbled, referring to making myself look like an idiot on my first day. Luckily they all just laughed off my apology and some even stood up to hug me and apologize for Jake being such an ass. I was _really _starting to like it here.

"Bella, come here, there's someone else I'd like you to meet," Jake whispered in my ear. He pulled me around to the other side of the fire. There, a man who looked a little older than Jacob and the others sat, staring lovingly at a beautiful young woman-beautiful except for three long scars that ran down the length of one side of her face. "Don't stare," Jacob muttered, then louder, "Sam. Emily. This is Bella Swan." Sam raised his eyebrow at the way Jacob had his arm around my waist, but said nothing about it.

"It's good to meet you, Bella," Emily said, standing to hug me. "I'm glad Jacob has you." Has me? I heard him cough noisily beside me and I giggled. He launched into a conversation with Emily about babies and such, and meanwhile I scoped everyone out. Surprisingly, at least half of the young Quileute boys were staring at me with looks of expectation and wonder, especially Sam. I shuddered under their heavy gazes. Feeling me shiver, Jake rubbed his hand up and down my arm. His almost unnatural warmth felt nice.

"Are you cold, honey?" he asked me softly. I shook my head. _Honey? _"Good. Wanna swim then?" I looked up and saw his impish grin. How could I say no to that face?

"Sure, Jake." We walked hand in hand to the waterline. He respectfully turned the other way while I shed my shorts and tank top. When he faced me again, his intake of breath was _loud. _I think my whole body turned tomato red as he again checked me out, this time slower. I shifted uncomfortably under his gaze and sat down on the sand, the waves gently splashing my feet and legs. "Can I ask you something?" I asked when he slid his arm around me, this time letting it fall a little lower around my hips.

"Anything," He rested his chin on my head.

"Why are you doing _this?"_ I nodded towards his arm. "And why do you talk to me the way you do?" I hoped he would understand what I meant. He laughed.

"You mean treating you like my girlfriend?" His girlfriend? I liked the sound of that. But, the sensible side of me reasoned, I had known Jacob Back for less than two days. Even if he really wanted to date me…I didn't know if I was ready for that. I nodded in answer to his question. "I don't know, Bells." He pulled me in tighter, up against his chest. "It just feels natural." Natural? He had that right. We sat in silence for a while, listening to the waves crashing on the shore. It was then that I remembered something.

"Jacob, when you were talking to Emily earlier…Sam was looking at me funny. In fact, a lot of the boys were." I shuddered again, remembering how odd it had made me feel.

"Bella, maybe you haven't seen yourself, but I'd assume it's because you look stunning as hell tonight." His response would have made sense, but I could easily tell the difference between checking someone out and…whatever it was those boys were doing. And plus, it took Jacob a _hair _too long to answer. I was not convinced.

"Jake," I said slowly, looking him over. "There's something you aren't telling me." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"Fine…I just…ugh. Bells? You're a…."

**A/N: Am I totally horrible for that cliffie? I hope not. But I'm also hoping that we can get to more than fifteen reviews before next chapter? Yeah, the faster we get more reviews, the faster the next chapter comes! I hope it comes soon, because I'm really excited about chapter five! And next chapter = vampires. See ya soon!**


	4. Chapter Four

**So, not very many reviews (I can tell everyone here is on Team Edward), but I just couldn't stay away. I'm so excited about what's going to happen in the next few chapters!**

**Oh, and you don't think I'd let go of Bella's secret that easily did you…? Read on.**

Chapter Four:

Bella looked at me, eyes full of expectation, but I wasn't giving in that easily. Besides, what was I supposed to tell her anyway? _Oh, by the way, the reason you're here right now is because you're inhuman. But we can't exactly tell you what you are, because we don't even know yet. We've never in our history had a female shifter, but you smell like Pack. Not that you even know what Pack _is.

How would she take that? I'm not an expert with women, but I had a feeling she would…well, flip shit.

"You're a...bout to get real wet!" I shouted, tossing her over my shoulder and running into the water. She shrieked marvelously and beat me across the back but, with what I was, it felt like she was doing a poor job at trying to tickle me.

"Jake stop!" she cried playfully. I wasn't having it. When the water was up to my waist, I tossed her up a good few feet in the air, her giggles and screams lighting up the night, before she fell under the black waters. I watched carefully, making sure I didn't need to dive in and save her, but she resurfaced after only a couple seconds. I expected to see mock wrath, but all I saw in her eyes was curiosity and wonder. She hadn't missed the fact that I had just changed the subject, but she said nothing. Staring into those large doe eyes, it was so hard not to give her everything she asked for. Unconsciously, I leaned forward. This girl…she was doing things to me. I expected her to pull away as I came into closer proximity of her lips, but she was still looking at me with that same damn cute inquisitive expression. Heat crackled between us as I reached out to pull her closer. Her hands came up to rest on my shoulders, creating an interesting effect against the darkness of my skin. I gasped as I noticed that I was not the only one leaning in-she wanted this just as badly as I did. Shit. My lips hovered centimeters from hers as I reached up to brush her hair behind her ear. I pressed impossibly closer, closing my eyes and-

"Jake! Your dad's about to start telling the legends!" Leah called from the beach. I could _hear _the goddamn smirk in her voice. She knew what she had just interrupted.

"Shit," Bella muttered under her breath, pulling away. She ran a frustrated hand through her hair. With a victorious smile I lifted her chin up with my finger so I could see those precious brown eyes.

"Another time," I promised, then I took her hand and led her back up to the beach. We joined everyone else around the fire and Bella nestled into my lap, snuggling her head onto my chest. Hell, I'd take that any day.

She tried to listen as my father launched into eerie tales of cold ones, our natural enemies, but by the time he was describing the wolves, she was out like a light. Poor girl. She had had a looooong day.

"Hey," I nudged Quil who sat on my left. "I'm gonna drop her off at the house before we run patrols tonight." Cradling her in my arms, I stood and made my way back down the beach to my-I smiled as I corrected myself-_our _house. I tucked her into her bed, pulling the covers up to her chin, and gently kissed her forehead.

"What have you done to me, Isabella Swan?"

_*()_*()

I ran in my wolf form around La Push, trying not to spend too long thinking about Bella. I hadn't known her long, but I felt so _drawn _to her. Like a damn magnet, for crying out loud.

_Maybe it's that imprinting bullshit,_ Quil snickered in his mind. Damn. I had been trying _really _hard not to let him hear any of my thoughts about her. I didn't like sharing.

_Ha. That's exactly what it is. _Bullshit, I thought back, before abruptly shutting off my thoughts to him by counting to one hundred in Spanish. I guess school was good for _something. _

_*()_*()

I hated this part of patrol. There hadn't been vampires in Forks in who-knows-how long, but this was our role as shifters. To protect our tribe and the surrounding areas. In the early hours of the morning with still no sign of _anything, _I felt myself practically nodding off_. _Jesus, it was tedious. Quil and I were both starting to get worn out from running those same routes over and over for hours on end and I was just about to suggest turning in for the night when I smelled it. I had _never_ smelled a vampire before-but _god _this stench was unmistakable. Sweet, but not like good ice cream sweet. No. More like sugar cubes dipped in honey and shoved onto sensitive teeth. It _singed _my senses. I bit back a growl long enough to send out a thought to Quil.

_Leech._ He roared in anger and sent up the alarm with a long, low howl. In less than two minutes, we heard our groggy pack brothers join us one by one-first Sam, then Paul, Jared, Embry, and Seth. There was no usual joking or playfulness. In fact, our thoughts were mostly silent as we followed the trail, noses to the ground, our paws pounding into the earth. There was an odd calm among us. This is what we were _created_ for.

_Sam. _Jared thought suddenly, tilting his head to the side. _The trail is getting weaker. _We all glanced over at him, and soon enough, we noticed it too. The trail was getting more faint with every step we took, and before long, it had disappeared entirely. We circled back a few more times to double check, but it was gone.

_Everyone phase back and get some rest. It's going to be a long day tomorrow. Nonstop patrols until we find the source of this. I'll finish up patrol for the rest of the night. _Sam thought, his Alpha authority seeping through. He was tired and pissed as hell about the bloodsucker stench. We all were.

Phasing back at the edge of the woods by my house I pulled on my shorts and couldn't help but let loose a cry of rage, yanking my arm back and thrusting my fist into a tree like a punching bag. It crackled like a campfire and shuddered under my furious punch, but didn't break. I wanted to snap it in half, I had so much pent-up rage. I didn't like how close the smell of vampires was to my father…and Bella. I had heard enough about leeches to know that if you were off your guard for one split second…that was all it took for them to destroy any and every human in their path.

"Damn it!" I bellowed, punching the same tree again. I was _livid. _And I knew that I would probably be running endless patrols, even when I wasn't scheduled. I didn't trust anyone to protect my Bella but me. _My Bella?_ Yes. In some way, she was mine now. Oh, did we have a lot to discuss.

Shaking my head, my exhaustion hit me full force again and I stumbled drowsily. It was time for me to get home. I made my way slowly across the sand, up to the porch of my home. Opening the door, I stuttered to a stop in the entryway, closing my door woodenly behind me. There on the couch, Bella sat, reading a novel and sipping a glass of ice tea. Hearing me enter, she set the book and tea on the coffee table and looked up at me.

"Hi, Jacob!" She said cheerfully, a mischievous quirk in her eyebrow. "Where have you been?"

**A/N: so not nearly as long, but this just had to be put in there because the vampires are obviously essential to this story! A side note-yes, the only wolves are Jacob, Sam, Quil, Embry, Jared, Paul, and Seth. No, Leah is not a wolf. Yes, she may become one. I realize my timelines are way off from the book, but this isn't really like the books anyway. **

**SUPER IMPORTANT! POLL! We know Bella isn't human…but what is she? I want YOUR thoughts on what you think she is. Be as super creative as possible. Whoever's idea is the best gets the next chapter at least a full day sooner than everyone else AND a shout out in the next chap! **

**Review away!**


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